Well I told you once and I told you twice
But ya never listen to my advice
You don’t try very hard to please me
With what you know it should be easy
Well this could be the last time
This could be the last time
Maybe the last time
I don’t know. oh no. oh no
There’s a pretty good chance 5Pointz will be razed sometime in November, so before I give my last words on the building and what’s going to replace it, I highly recommend you actually go there, with your children if you have any, and see it.
Now, without further ado, comes my final thoughts on 5Pointz. Last month I made mention of how additional supply of market rate apartments, lowers the price of these apartments, based on the standard law of supply and demand. Thus, once again we have the powers-that-be creating an economic benefit for one strata, while taking it from another. Ironically, the one they are taking it from, are not the much-vilified one-percenters. Do you really think it is the 1% who are going to live in 5Pointz? Or even LIC? Most people move here because the rents are cheaper than those in Manhattan. According to the 2010 census, there are 20,860 residents in Long Island City. Ironically, when you divide 210 “affordable rate” apartments by the number of LIC residents,you get almost exactly ….1%! Coincidence? I think not. So the beneficiaries of these 210 apartments can also be viewed as the 1%, though I’m not really sure that they earned it.
What should the city have done from the outset regarding 5Pointz? Denied the zoning expansion(special permit), bought the building from the Wolkoff’s at a price that recognized the price appreciation in the building. Then, sell it to a developer with the stipulation that he would have to keep and maintain the shell for graffiti artists. Furthermore, had you then allowed an increase in zoning and not forced a set-aside for affordable housing units, the city could have:
1) Saved 5Pointz
2) Made a huge profit on the deal
3) Lowered market rate rentals for everyone.
There you have it, the LICtalk solution.
Oh, and as for the aesthetics of 5Pointz, I’m bedazzled every time I see it. It bursts with creativity. It is literally the gateway to Queens due to its location on the 7-line. Personally, I equate its colors with those of Van Gogh, and likewise its artistic value hasn’t fully been realized by modern day society. Maybe it needs to die in order to do so. The Wolkoff’s are certainly within reason to develop it, and I fully credit them for putting in the original plan to create it. I kind of wonder if their epitaph will make mention of the extra $20-30 mil for razing it. Maybe they could take a lesson from Donald and Shelley Rubin.
Developers Are Looking at Queens As the Next Frontier in Real Estate – yeah, like they’re practically giving away land in LIC
Ray Kelly Defends School Safety Officer Who Saw Avonte
Restaurant Review: Casa Enrique – the Daily News gives its opinion
Boro Vendors to Headline New LIC Market
Fruit and Vegetable Stand In LIC Offers Up Art
Discovering Quiet in NYC is Easier Than You Think – #1 in this list is located in LIC, as is #6
LIC Contains Highest Ratio of Men to Women – not in elementary school(see graph)
Ro says
October 21, 2013 at 9:00 amI wonder if Banksy will put up one of his pieces up at 5Pointz. Would that help 5Pointz’s cause or just make the building more valuable? Hmmmm.
Queensie says
October 21, 2013 at 9:07 amRo – I had that exact thought myself! But it would almost seem too obvious for someone like him. Plus it wouldn’t stand out amongst all the other sprayings there.
Anonymous says
October 21, 2013 at 9:41 amso, if a famous artist puts his art up on someone’s private property, that all of a sudden makes it public property?